Ellsworth Advisors LLC Has $451,000 Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 7.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,422 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $451,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,992,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in SM Energy in the first quarter worth about $5,614,000. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1,733.5% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 102,307 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,100,000 after purchasing an additional 96,727 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in SM Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,593,103 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $61,685,000 after buying an additional 64,781 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $710,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.44.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In related news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total transaction of $804,480.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 114,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,756,808.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SM traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,327,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,763,259. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.99. The company has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 4.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. SM Energy has a one year low of $34.13 and a one year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $616.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. SM Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 11.29%.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.